We’ve all heard the oft-cited (and oft-debated) statistic that consumers’ attention spans are shorter than those of goldfish.

It’s something we’ve cited in the past too. Whether or not the measurement is accurate, it’s hard to deny that attention spans of past and present guests who receive your hotel’s emails are decreasing… or are they?

We were surprised to find out that, according to an analysis of billions of emails, summarized in an infographic, Litmus found that attention spans—at least when reading email—are increasing.

The email company found that the average time spent reading an email increased from 10.4 seconds in 2011 to 11.1 seconds last year. That may not sound like much, but it’s a seven percent increase. Overall, more recipients are reading emails closely, and fewer are simply skimming them.

What does this mean for hotels? Considering that targeted emails generate higher engagement, it likely means that companies who market to consumers are becoming more sophisticated with their email sends. They’re sending emails that are more relevant to their subscriber base than they were a year ago.

Remember, however, that 11.1 seconds is still not very much time to catch your guests’ attention. This means that hotels need to be keeping up with other consumer-facing companies by sending targeted, relevant messages to their guest database. Your guests are coming to expect this from their inbox.

For highlights from the findings, and for tips on how to optimize your emails for short attention spans, check out the infographic. Just tap or click to see a larger version.